Sunday School: The Kingdom Has Come Upon You

Good morning!
We're so glad you decided to join us today!

We are not meeting in person for Sunday School today. Instead, we are at Cross Creek Park for our church picnic with Upper Buffalo.

When we meet in person, we share our joys and concerns with each other. If you have prayer requests to share, you can add them to the comments on this post. When you are ready, use this prayer to get started. ​

Lord Jesus, we have many requests for the things that we want for ourselves and our neighbors. But most of all, we ask that you would change us, that you would change our hearts so that our desires and affections are more like yours. Change our words that we will always honor You, and change our actions so that we reach out to the people and the needs that you prioritize.  Help us to truly repent, and guide us by your wisdom. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen

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This week's lesson is on Matthew 12:22-32. 

Introduction
Today’s lesson contains a statement from Jesus about the unforgivable sin. We often talk about the depth and breadth of God’s love and how “love covers over a multitude of sins,” (1 Peter 4:8). And that is true.

But that is why it is so shocking and horrifying to hear that there is a sin that God cannot forgive. What is that sin? Have I committed it? How can I know?
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By studying Jesus’s words in context, as we will do today, we can better understand what Jesus was talking about. And perhaps we will hear a warning in his words while also gaining some relief from our fears and our worries.

Kingdom and Healing (Matthew 12:22-24)
By the time of this encounter, Jesus has already garnered acclaim as a healer. (See Matthew 4:23-25 and 12:15.) His healing ministry includes casting out demons, such as in Matthew 4:24 and 8:16. What makes this case unusual is that the man is said to be demon-possessed but also blind and mute. If you think about it, blindness is not usually associated with the inability to speak. Much more commonly, a person who is mute is also deaf because he or she has not been able to hear others speak.

When the people witness the healing — presumably with the removal of the demon as well — they are, of course, astonished. They begin to wonder aloud if this might be evidence that Jesus is the “Son of David,” the Messiah.

Instead of entertaining that possibility, however, the Pharisees issue an explanation that is exactly the opposite of the people’s. This healing, they say, is not evidence of Messiahship but that Jesus is in league with Satan. In other words, the healing is a crafty satanic ploy meant to deceive the people. Without even seeing the healing themselves, they are offering a counterargument based on their conviction that Jesus cannot be the Messiah.
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Instead of being open to the possibility that God could be moving in the world in a unique and powerful way through Jesus, the Pharisees see a potential loss of power and control over the people. By doing so, they turn a wonderful sign of God’s kingdom into a movement of Satan. They call good evil.

Kingdom and Unity (Matthew 12:25-30)
Jesus hears what the Pharisees say, but even more, he knows their thoughts and motives. He counters the their interpretation of his actions by showing how foolish it would be for Satan to inspire the people to believe in God and to worship God by offering them a sign of God’s healing and power. If this is Satan’s strategy, why not simply let Satan destroy himself?

Next Jesus turns the argument on the Pharisees themselves. Some Jews of this period were also known as exorcists. They may have even had a relationship to the Pharisees. If the people accept the argument that Satan is deceiving them by allowing demons to be removed, how will they explain these other exorcisms?  By saying that their own exorcisms were by God’s power, these Jews would offer judgment against the Pharisees and their hypocrisy. On the other hand, Jesus says, if his actions are by the Spirit of God, it is evidence that the kingdom of God has actually come into their midst.

Therefore, this healing is physical evidence of the message that Jesus had proclaimed from the very beginning, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)

Jesus offers a more reasonable explanation of what is happening, using an analogy from the natural world. If someone wants to burglarize the home of a strong man who is still inside the home, he would first have to neutralize the strong man in some way, perhaps by tying him up. Only then could he burglarize the home.

There is no question that Satan is strong and that Satan controls the world. However, God’s Spirit is much stronger than Satan, and these acts of healing are evidence that Jesus is relying on God’s Spirit to overcome Satan’s power and claim the world as God’s possession.
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Jesus concludes this analogy with a warning. People cannot stay neutral in this struggle between good and evil. Those who choose to twist God’s healing, freeing movement into a negative thing have chosen the side of evil. They have aligned themselves with Satan and against God. This is not a small thing. It has eternal consequences.

Kingdom and the Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32)
The final section of this passage contains a statement that has bewildered many Christians. Here Jesus talks about a sin that cannot be forgiven, which leaves many people wondering if they might have committed that sin and are therefore without hope of salvation.  Without understanding the context of Jesus’s statement, we may think it refers to a particular action. But Jesus is referring to the mindset of the Pharisees here which, if not corrected, could lead them to a place where forgiveness is impossible. That is simply because they will have convinced themselves that the Spirit’s work is evil, leaving them incapable and unwilling to change their hearts and minds.
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What Jesus is warning us against, I believe, is not committing a particular sin — as bad as all sin is — but of shutting ourselves off from being able to see God’s Spirit moving in the world and in our lives. When that happens, people cannot respond to the Spirit because they have chosen to ignore it or even to see its life-giving work as evil. The Pharisees may not have arrived at that place yet, but Jesus warns that they are traveling down a dangerous path.

Conclusion
In Book IV of Paradise Lost, author John Milton has Satan musing at length on his situation and prospects. Satan realizes that his rebellion against God has left him without hope for redemption; thus he utters, “Farewell, hope.” Satan then reasons, “All good to me is lost.” He had begun a journey away from God from which there was no return. Therefore, he decided, “Evil, be thou my good” — one of the most chilling lines in all of literature.

What does it take to commit an eternal sin, a sin that cannot be forgiven, ever? Are we in daily danger of this, always walking a tightrope between salvation and eternal damnation? Could a careless word or thought condemn us for eternity?

We should recognize that some Christians fear the possibility of committing an unpardonable sin. However, we are probably not in a position to evaluate for sure whether it has been committed. Paul speaks of those who have “seared” conscience (1 Timothy 4:2), referring to those who will not and so cannot repent. They have willingly reversed the order of good and evil in the universe, becoming like those Isaiah condemns when he says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.” (Isaiah 5:20) These are the ones who have agreed with Milton’s Satan: “Evil, be thou my good.” Some would say today that evil and depravity are celebrated more than good. But we must not turn our backs on the unrepentant people in our community, just as Jesus did not abandon the Pharisees without a warning.

In the end, it is for God, not us, to judge whether or when the unforgivable sin has been committed. The old rule of thumb is that if you are concerned about it, you have not yet committed it, for you still have a conscience that discerns good from evil. God and God’s Word call us constantly to repent. If you still sense the stirring in your heart to get right with the Lord, even if the stirring is weak, you must do so.
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Jesus’ words remain a lesson for today’s church. Opponents of Christianity will always seek to discredit Jesus and divide his followers. Once confronted with the gospel, it is impossible to remain neutral. To reject Jesus is to be against him. This may be done subtly, however. If we’re not careful, we may end up working against Jesus to divide and scatter his followers, bringing disunity to the body of Christ.

​Prayer
Heavenly Father, we want to rely even more on the power of the Holy Spirit for good works and to please you. May we never be intimidated by those who refuse to recognize you and your power in their midst. We pray in the name of the one who loves us, Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Benediction
This week's benediction is from the Good News Translation.

Next week's lesson is on Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.